Apply Some Pressure
by Kronoskingofthemonkeypeople
Summary: Another patient, another surgery - will Owen and Cristina be able to heal each other? Will Owen be able to talk with Derek? Will someone be able to write a better summary? This is an Owina fic, but deals with other characters.
1. Chapter I

**Apply Some Pressure – Chapter I**

The sand was impossible to get rid of. Owen tugged the collar of his ballistic vest as the insufferable grains rubbed up against his chest. He glared out the window of the hummer, into the bleak and dusty landscape. Most days it was clear, the changeless blue sky against the glaring yellow of the ground. But last night the wind had picked up, and the perfect sky was now chocked with the sand he had become sick of – getting into every nook and cranny, no matter how many times he brushed it off.

Owen looked back into the armoured vehicle to his friends as they tossed with the hummer. Their laughing had stopped now that they were closing in on the front line. He peered a back to the sky. He hated this weather. You could never really place the enemy on days like this, they always appeared out of nowhere.

Owen was shaken out of his thoughts. The convoy had screeched to a halt. Instinctively, he jumped out of the hummer with his colleagues and rushed to the tanks that waited on the side of the road.

"Major." A man saluted.

"What have we got lieutenant?" Owen grabbed his med bag from his assisting officer.

"Three injured sir. The enemy retreated a while ago. They've all had first aid."

"My knee!" Came a muffled scream from around the tank.

"Good job lieutenant." Owen nodded to the man then walked around the tank to see the three men lying against the wheels of the machine, one almost unconscious and another grasping at his leg.

"Jesus!" The man spat in pain. "My knee!"

Owen kneeled down beside him, eyes furrowed as he began to set up an IV. "What happened officer?"

"I got shot…. my knee! I got shot in the knee!" He screamed in pain once more.

"Ok, don't worry, we're going to take you back to Bagdad, I'm just going to give you some mor…."

Suddenly they heard a small bang.

"_GET DOWN!"_

Owen got up in a sweat. Sitting on the bed, he grasped the sides of the mattress as he tried to slow his breathing, his heart racing a million miles an hour. He closed his eyes and took and deep breath, then opened them again. The on-call room was dark. He glanced over to the bedside table where his pager rested.

2:45

He hadn't slept at all. His heart began to calm itself. What if he wasn't sleeping in the first place? Owen shook his head to clear it, then slowly lay back down on the bed. He needed his sleep. He knew that, he was sensible. With his mind set on sleeping, he closed his eyes again.

_Cristina…_

He shot from the bed again. This wasn't going to work.

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Cristina rested her chin on her fist as she sat behind the desk, staring off into space, rather than checking up on the OR board like she intended to. Yesterday, Owen had taken her to the vent.

_The vent_.

Cristina scoffed at the insanity of it all. It was like Marylyn Monroe meets some cheesy Hollywood Christmas special. And yet…well, it was…the vent. She sighed reminiscently then realised what she was doing and quickly stopped herself. What the hell had this guy turned her into? Burke never made her feel like this. Burke was…Burke. She needed some serious surgery action.

"Cristina."

She shook out of her thoughts and looked up at George, standing on the other side of the desk.

"What do you want?" Cristina groaned.

George glared at her slightly. "I know you're not interested but I need you to do me a favour. I think something's wrong with Izzie."

Cristina raised an eyebrow then sighed. "Look, why don't you talk to Mer about it?"

He was not humoured. "I tried that but she's too obsessed with you two fighting to care about anyone else."

"Hmph." Cristina scoffed. "Sounds like her."

"Just, you're the only that can help me, ok? Just look out for her, see if she does anything weird."

"Fine. But seriously, I think everything Izzie does is weird so don't expect much."

George rolled his eyes then walked away. Cristina watched him go when Derek appeared around the corner and looked straight at her, then started to walk over. Quickly she turned and pretended she was doing something else, anything to get away from the inane babble of Derek trying to "heal the conflict" between Mer and her.

"Cristina?" Derek's voice appeared way to close to her head.

"Mhmm?" Cristina continued to look away, now typing gibberish into the computer to make her look busy.

"I was wondering if you'd like to scrub in with me on a case about 10 minutes out. Car crash. Severe head injuries."

"Severe?" Cristina spun around to face him with a smile. To see Derek was also smiling she stopped. "I mean, sure. I'll see you down in the pit."

Cristina spun back around in the chair and tapped the table in happiness. Severe injuries; serious surgery. This was definitely going to bring back the hardcore in Cristina.

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Owen pressed in the button on the elevator and watched as the doors closed. He tugged at the collar of his scrubs and brushed his arm down when he stopped. He shook himself out of it. This was a bad day.

Maybe he could get away to the vent again. He needed to clear his head. A smile appeared on his face. Her hair, her laugh…she had haunted him all day and night but he couldn't help it. He didn't want it to stop. He wanted to take her back down there and stay like that forever; out of time, out of space. She made him forget, she made him better.

The elevator stopped, and in walked in Derek, a smile appearing on his face as he saw Owen.

"Afternoon." He said cheerily.

"Afternoon Dr. Shepherd." Owen nodded.

"We've worked together for a while now, call me Derek." The doors closed.

"Ok, well, call me Owen."

There was a silence between them, and Derek shoved his hands in his coat pockets.

"Listen Owen…" He started. "This is probably going to sound ridiculous and unprofessional but I need you to do me a favour."

Owen looked over at him and raised his sceptically. "Ah..." he took a breath. "Sure. What do you want me to do?"

"The head trauma 5 minutes out, I'll need to you to get Meredith Grey to assist."

"Dr Grey?"

"Sorry, it's just, I'm getting Cristina to assist, and she and Meredith are best friends but they're fighting right now and they're not looking any closer to making up so I've got to force them to make up."

"They're fighting?" Owen stared at Derek.

"Yes."

"In what way do you think that will help the poor patient with severe injuries on their way to the hospital?"

Derek sighed. "None at all."

The elevator stopped and the doors began to open.

"Ok, I'll page Dr. Grey." Owen rolled his eyes.

"You're a good man." Derek nodded then walked out the elevator. "Welcome to Seattle Grace."

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**N/B**

**Why hello! This is…. well; this is an Owina fic, set the day after The Vent. Yes, The Vent is its own capitalised occurrence. So back to straightening out what this fic is, cause this is the first chapter and I don't want any confusion 3 chapters in with people screaming, "WHERE'S THE RABBITS??". There will be no rabbits in this fic. It is Owina centric, but I shall also cover other characters. I shall not ignore George and no way in hell with I have any Denny. Loved the guy in season two but seriously, being there when Alex professed his love? SACRELIGE!! **

**Ok. Lot of capitals. **

**If I can, I shall try and fit in MerDer hotness, cause there also has been a lack of that. But shouldn't really continue talking, otherwise I'll talk on about what it's about and tell you the whole thing!**

**Exactly! So, please give your two cents, I truly need your input to power my brain, so unless you're telepathic, REVIEW!!! Thank you very much, and stop reading my mind. That's right! I know who you are….**

**REVIEW!!**


	2. Chapter II

**Apply Some Pressure – Chapter II**

Cristina checked her watch and snatched up a trauma coat on her way through the bustling pit. Hurriedly tying up the ties at her back, she stumbled through the ER doors without noticing the two figures standing before her. Quickly finishing off the bow, she looked up as her gaze caught two intensely blue eyes.

"Oh." Cristina stammered as she stopped herself just feet away from Owen. "Hi." She tried, cautiously.

Cristina thought she could catch a faint smile on his lips as he looked down at her.

"Hi." He replied simply.

Cristina didn't know if she was more embarrassed by the pitiful greeting she gave Owen or the fact that she just noticed that Meredith was the figure standing beside them.

"Ah…" Cristina started, then she looked over and Meredith, who turned her head away. Cristina closed her mouth.

Owen gave a quick glance over at Meredith, then looked back at Cristina, his face expressing faint annoyance at their third party. Suddenly the ER does opened again, and Derek strolled out. Owen broke his gaze from Cristina, and shoved his hands behind his back, as if nothing had happened. Derek stood between Cristina and him, with Meredith at the far end, in some ridiculously awkward line up.

Cristina sighed and stared out in front of her. From the corner of her eye, she could catch Derek sneaking looks at Meredith, then over back to her. She desperately wanted to glance over at Owen, just a sneak, just to see what his expression was, to see whether it was full of regret, guilt annoyance, joy or whatever. But she knew that as soon as she would look over, Meredith would catch her eye and that would be just way too weird.

As if in some divine intervention, the ambulance screeched round the corner and pulled out in front of them. The doors quickly swung open and out jumped the paramedic.

"Jasper Platt; 38 year old male, injured on the right occipital lobe and is bleeding from the torso. Unconscious since we found him. BP's 70 and heart rate's 65."

Cristina flicked out her torched and peered into the patient's eyes. "Pupils unresponsive."

"Grey." Owen barked. "Put pressure on his stomach to stop the bleeding."

Meredith moved over to the gurney, causing Cristina to move away from it and accidentally back in to Owen. His reflexes were quick as he grabbed her sides held her straight, but with a look from Derek he realised what he was doing and shoved his hands behind him then took a step back. Cristina felt a jolt of electricity run up inside her from his touch, but quickly scratched her head then followed the gurney in.

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Cristina was forced to help Meredith put pressure on the patient's abdomen while Owen cut off the man's bloody t-shirt and apply dressings. At the head of the gurney, Derek checked the patient's eyes. He stood up and placed the torch in his pocket.

"Cristina, can you go get the patient's – "

"I'll do it." Meredith interjected. Quickly she let go of the patient and ran out of the room. Derek looked at Owen then over to Cristina, worried. He quickly followed after Meredith and closed the door.

Cristina's stomach tightened as she stared at her hands, refusing to look up. They were alone. They were alone for the first time since…

Cristina tried to focus. She needed to focus. She was stopping a man from bleeding out. This was serious. Owen's hands appeared next to hers, as he pressed down against the man's abdomen.

Cristina shot up. "Why did you get Meredith for this case?"

A smile appeared on Owen's face. "_Derek _asked me for a favour." He looked at her cheekily. "And I thought it would be fun to see you two battle it out."

Cristina smiled faintly then looked away. Somehow, having Owen here helped her. She may be fighting with her best friend, but at least she had him. Well, she didn't really _have _him. They were just…. What were they?

"Ah," Cristina looked up at him. "You doing anything tonight?"

"I don't think that…" Owen responded suddenly. "I mean, I don't know…" He looked down nervously then up again and stared into her eyes. "I don't know if it would be appropriate."

"Oh." Cristina was taken by surprise. _Appropriate? _Had yesterday not happened?

Owen shuffled awkwardly. "I mean, I don't know if it is." Cristina looked into his eyes, which seemed to be pleading; almost hoping. "Is it appropriate?"

Cristina was about to reply when the door opened and Derek walked in with the scans.

"He's haemorrhaging in the right occipital lobe." Derek slid the scans in front of the light for Owen's benefit. "We need to take him into OR stat."

Owen nodded then helped push the gurney out of the emergency room with Derek and the nurses. Cristina was left alone.

She turned and paced in deep thought, her fingers pinching her forehead. What the hell was she doing? She said she would never get involved with another attending. But suddenly here she was, practically asking one out, and feeling like her gut was wrenched out of her at his hesitation. And now she was getting all confused over what he meant. Did he want this? Was he trying to get her to say yes or just trying to find a way out of this??

She was getting _way _too emotional. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

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**NB**

**Yes, a very awkward and angsty chapter. Cause yes, they were all giggles at the vent, but that was out of time and space, and this is in the now, and I think both of them are freaked out of their minds. Owen probably more so then Cristina, but still they both have no idea what they're doing, what this all means. All they know is that they want each other. **

**And, you know, Mer's giving her the silent treatment, but let's see if that boils over sometime soon. Cause you know everything's going to boil over in Grey's Anatomy.**

**Oh yeah – a reviewer asked if I could include some Lexie/Mark and I think I will. Surprised as I was, I'm actually really liking them together. **

**Anywho – if you want a bigger and better chapter, there is only one thing to do – REVIEW!! And review hard!**


	3. Chapter III

**Apply Some Pressure – Chapter III**

"So, Dr Hunt, what made you come back to Seattle Grace?"

Owen halted his stiches on the artery and looked up at Meredith as she held the suction. He knew it had to be a simple question, just small talk, but something in Meredith's eyes and the fact that Cristina was standing right next to him, he felt there must have been something else behind it.

"The weather I guess." Owen replied simply in a low sarcastic tone.

As Meredith went back to the suction, he quickly shot a look over at Cristina, who was assisting Derek. Cristina's eyes looked like fire as she glared at Meredith. He knew it was a bad idea letting them both in.

"It mustn't have been the pay though…" Meredith suddenly continued. Owen could tell Cristina had now frozen in her spot. "I mean, Seattle's a pretty desirable place to work compared to other cites that pay a lot more…but maybe the chief offered you a very good deal…"

Owen shifted uncomfortably then looked up at Meredith, eyebrow raised. Suddenly there was a beeping sound.

"Dr Hunt!" Derek warned at the end of the surgical table.

Owen glanced over at the stat monitor. "He's loosing blood pressure. Suction Dr Grey." He threw dressings into the cavity to hold the bleeding.

"You keep that BP up Dr Hunt, any lower and it's going to cause troubles up here." Derek cautioned.

"I've got it all under control." Owen grumbled as he moved aside the dressings and began again on the stiches. "Suction Grey!" He barked again. He could hear Cristina scoff at the end of the table. Slowly, as he finished the repair, the blood pressure grew stable.

"Well that was lucky." Cristina mumbled under her breath, sarcastically.

Meredith shot up. "_What_ is your problem?"

"Oh I'm sorry, but if you hadn't been so interesting in small talk, we wouldn't have to deal with the possibility of serious brain damage."

"Well if _you _had- "

"Dr Grey!" Owen glared at Meredith. "Dr Yang!" He continued facing Meredith to avoid the look on Cristina's face. "Get out of this OR now. Both of you."

Meredith raised her eyes in astonishment and looked over at Derek, whose sad eyes seemed to agree with Owen's outburst.

"That's an order!" Owen reiterated. Cristina and Meredith then quickly put down their surgical equipment walked away from the table, tearing off their surgical gowns while keeping a safe distance away from each other as they exited the OR.

Owen stood in silence over the table and took a deep breath. Cristina's going to hate him now. He was an army man; none of this stuff ever got mixed up in the field. There were rules; there was a reason why they had a don't ask don't tell policy. That stuff just couldn't get mixed with their work.

"I'm sorry Owen." Derek's low voice broke his thought. "It was a stupid idea. I never should have suggested it."

Owen sighed then looked up at Derek. "Look, I've gathered that in this hospital it's hard to keep things separate. But don't ever purposely bring your personal lives into the OR with me again."

Derek nodded slowly then went back to the surgery. Owen gazed at the door of the OR. He had to talk to Cristina.

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Cristina scrubbed her hands hard in the sink outside the OR in the hall. She was waiting for Meredith to dry her hands and leave before she left, just so she didn't have to talk to her or anything. She could tell Meredith was glancing over to her even though her head was fixed forward.

"Seriously Cristina!" Meredith suddenly burst. "Why did you have to get us kicked out of surgery?"

Cristina switched off the tap and turned to her. "_What?_ I'm not the one who nearly killed the guy!"

"It was just a minor drop! It was fixed in no time! Just because I was having a little small talk-"

"Yeah what the hell? Why were you talking to him?"

"He was my attending! Who else do you think I'd have small talk with?"

"Just… whatever!" Cristina hastily shrugged and grabbed a paper towel.

"Look," Meredith lowered her voice and looked up and down the hallway. "I wasn't trying to get any information about you and him."

"_Seriously_? With all the questioning of why he came back?"

"It's not like it's my problem I'm clueless! You haven't told me anything about it."

"Well maybe I've tried. And maybe you're to interested in your own crap to listen to your friend's."

Cristina threw her paper towel in the bin and walked away. She could hear Meredith call out her name but she kept walking. Owen had just turned out to be some crappy domineering surgeon like Burke and she couldn't tell her best friend. She felt like shit.

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Cristina sat on a step in the empty stairwell. It was getting dark. The cold cement was beginning to ache her but she remained still, staring out the blank window and listening to the dull echo of the flickering fluorescent lights.

She was supposed to be going to the vent, but she had stopped halfway. It was her place of release last time, her place of escape and joy – but she was scared now that it wouldn't be the same without Owen. She was scared that it would be different now, that it would spoil the now cherished memories of that place forever.

So instead she stopped, and sat on the cold concrete steps.

A door opened above her. The escaping noises of the outside world stopped as the door closed with a metallic thud. She could hear heavy footsteps move close to her then stop as a dark figure appeared beside her on the step.

"If you're still looking for the answer on whether this is appropriate or not, I think that should probably resolve it." Cristina looked up to see the set of blue eyes staring back at her.

"I'm not going to apologise for kicking you out. Just, what were you thinking? You were fighting while a patient was open on the table!"

"I know." She sighed as she covered her face with her hand and looked away. "I don't know what got into me…"

She felt his hand on her knee. The warmth of his hand seemed to radiate through her scrubs, down through her thigh and up to her chest. That small gesture had suddenly her feel safe, made her feel calm.

"Are you ok?" His deep voice somehow soothed her.

"I don't know…" She looked back at Owen. "She's my best friend. She's my…sister. We've never fought before. I just don't know what to do."

"Tell you what," A faint smile appeared on Owen's lips. "I'm going to buy you a drink. And some food. There's nothing like a good meal to fix you up."

Cristina looked at him cautiously. "Wouldn't you call drinks and dinner_ inappropriate_?"

"I've thought about that." He looked away. "I think I'm going to give up being strictly professional with you, especially since it hasn't seemed to be working out that well."

"What? With all those make-out sessions in the steam pipe trunk distribution venue?" Cristina smiled cheekily.

"Hmm… it's hard to go back across the line after that." Owen gave a smile.

"Ok then," She stood up then held out her hand to him. "You owe me a steak."

Owen grinned and grabbed Cristina's hand. "Steak it is."

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**NB**

**Mmmmmm….steak. Ok, so maybe the end was a little food obsessed. But I like food. And now I feel like a steak. **

**But yeah, FLASHBACK! Remember – Burke doesn't like redmeat and Cristina did? Well Owen likes it two! Yey! Carnivorous soulmates! Like, totally. **

**So I hope any West Wing fans caught my little homage there, or maybe it's just a lot of confused readers. **

**I seriously don't think I have made any sense. **

**Right! Shall shut up, but before I go; those scared of a bit of Mark/Lexie, it's only going to be a bit, and it's got a while to come up – which pretty much applies to the other plot lines, they'll all pop up eventually. **

**But now I'm off to run then bbq my self a steak! **

**Please review. I mean it – I want YOU to REVIEW! Huh, that kind of rhymes. Cool. REVIEW! Give me creativity to burn! BURN I tells ya!**


	4. Chapter IV

**Apply Some Pressure – Chapter IV**

Owen and Cristina had decided it best if they avoided Joe's bar tonight. Though it was probably busy, they didn't want to take any chances. Instead they ended up in a small diner just around the corner from Cristina's apartment, a dingy place where the steak was cheap and the beers were cold. She couldn't explain it, but Cristina felt a warmth in this place, a feeling that seemed exactly the opposite to her first date with Burke. Not that this was a date of course. It was just food. Just a quick, cheap dinner; nothing else.

"And she whines!" Cristina continued ranting, a half eaten chunk of meat still in her mouth. "My god does she whine!" She grabbed her third beer and took a swig, not noticing the secret smile on Owen's face. "It's all, McDreamy this and McDreamy that..."

"_McDreamy_?" Owen looked up with a sparkle in his eye.

Cristina stopped herself and pondered whether Owen would be suitable for the world of Mcs. She quickly decided he was above all that. "Oh, it's a long story… But seriously, the amount of crap I've had to deal with – "

"You do realise that _you're_ whining now, right?" Owen flicked a smirk.

Cristina glared at him. "Hey." She pointed at him, bottle in hand. "I never whine. This is like some once in a lifetime, lunar eclipse kind of thing. You should take a picture of it, sell it on Ebay. It'll go for a mint."

Owen gave a light chuckle as he continued in his food, then looked up seriously. "You think it'll take long for you to make up?"

"I don't know…" Cristina sighed. "I mean, to be honest, I don't want to be fighting."

"Then why are you?"

"It's just a stupid nothing. It'll work itself out." Cristina shrugged and took another swig of the beer.

Owen leaned forward slightly. "You're obviously both stubborn as hell, otherwise it'd be done with ages ago. She obviously doesn't want to fight; so all you two have got to do is talk."

"She'll just keep going on about the solo surgery!" Cristina groaned.

"No she won't. Not if you don't. You should make the first step."

She fell silent and studied him, deep in thought, as she rested her chin on the side of the bottle. "Now it's time for me to ask you a question." She said seriously.

A flash of worry appeared in Owen eyes, but quickly he gave a smile and it was gone. "Ok." He said simply.

"How long has it been since you've slept?"

"Ah." He looked down and played with his meal, a dry smile on his lips. "It's been…a while." He looked up at Cristina.

She held back for a second. This was getting into serious territory. _Serious_ territory. She knew he would have to be a bit messed up after what had happened in Iraq, but she didn't know if she could handle it. She usually stays well away from that kind of stuff, even with Meredith sometimes. But now she suddenly blurted out some psychiatry shit to a guy she's only known a few weeks?

But somehow - god knows why - she wanted to help him. She wanted to know him.

Christina gulped down. "Is it because…you know?"

"It's…a number of things." Owen looked away, his eyes becoming darker.

There was a silence between them. Cristina knew that this was a point where she would usually get awkward, but not now. Now she just wanted to sit there and be some sort of comfort to Owen.

"Actually," he turned his face to her as his eyes lit up again. "It probably sounds way too corny but one of the reasons I wasn't sleeping was…well, you."

Cristina was taken aback. "Me? Why?"

"Probably some remnants of the army. A commanding officer must not and cannot have relations with an inferior…"

"Inferior am I?" Cristina raised her eyebrows.

"In some things." Owen chided.

"Ok then." She set down her bottle. "This date is definitely over."

"It's a date, is it?" He jumped in quickly with a smile.

"Well there's food, and alcohol, and us…"

"Yes there's definitely something suspicious happening when 'us' are there…" Owen smiled.

"Hey – you're the one that started that by kissing me in the emergency room!"

"Couldn't help it."

"Doesn't sound like you had the restraint of a respectable officer."

"I have very few weaknesses. _You_ seem to be one of them." His blue eyes shone bright as he stared straight into hers. A bolt of electricity ran up her spine.

"Ah," She fidgeted and tore her eyes from Owen's, afraid they were going to make her do something not really suitable for public. "You want a drink at mine? It's just around the corner?"

His eyes soften a bit. "Sure..." He nodded slowly and looked down. "Just as long as you've got better beer than Budweiser."

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Owen kept a few meters behind Cristina as she entered he building and walked up to her apartment. He knew this was wrong. He was warned about this sort of thing after he was discharged. Well, not exactly this situation, but they talked to him about relationships and how they'd be strained. How it would be hard for him to get close to another person after everyone he had loved had gone.

Now he was breaking all the rules.

Cristina stopped at her door and opened it, then turned around. "You coming in?"

Owen quickly nodded and walked over. He had to control himself tonight. This relationship was a whirlwind as it was, but he seemed to have control over himself, minus the sleeping of course. But if he took the extra step, he had no idea what would happen. He shouldn't push himself any more.

Cristina flung her keys on the table and walked over to the fridge, pulling out two beers. "These good enough?" She walked up to him and held one out.

Owen realised she was only a foot away. "Listen, I…" He looked down in her eyes, deep, brown and hypnotic. _Steady_ he told himself. He had to take this slow. Slow…

He lunged forward and took her in a kiss, fierce at first but then softer as he became intoxicated by her smell. He could feel her hand creep up his back then down again, as they came to the hem of his shirt. As he wrung his hands through her thick, curly hair they seemed to pace backwards, unaware of where they were going, only that Owen's shirt had suddenly gone. He began slowly to unbutton her shirt, as her fingers went down to his belt buckle…

"_GET DOWN!"_

Owen froze up.

"_My leg!!"_

He pushed Cristina away and backed up against the wall, his chest heaving in and out as he tried to calm his rigid body. He could feel the sweat roll his face, his gritting teeth forming his face into a scowl.

_Get out. Get out!_

"_Get these men out of here!"_

_Get out._

"_They fucking shot me!"_

_Out!_

Owen snapped out of it. He felt two soft hands around his face, two deep brown lights leading him out of the darkness.

"Owen…" Her soft voice appeared. "It's ok….you're here…"

"Cristina." He murmured, more for his sake of comfort than for her.

"Hey," She gave a sad smile. "You're with me, remember? Out of time, out of space?"

"Out of space…" His hand slowly moved up to her hair and touched it softly, a connection to the real world.

"Yeah…" She said quietly.

He took a deep breath. He knew now where he was. He was in her bedroom, they had been on a date, he had an episode but she was still there.

She was still there.

"Is it ok…" Owen started. "I think I need sleep."

Cristina stoked the side of his face. "I think so too."

Still in a daze, Owen took his shoes and pants on then wandered to the bed. He felt more tried than ever before, but he still did not know if he could sleep, especially after that. He slid himself under the covers then stared up to the ceiling, his brow furrowed. This wasn't going to work; he would never get any rest. Suddenly he felt something warm next to him. He peered next to him. Cristina lay at the edge of the bed, her back turned towards him. He sighed. He knew this was far too much to put on someone. She deserved to be scared.

"I'm sorry." He murmured.

"Don't be." Her voice answered. There was a silence, then she turned around to face him. "You've…you've got nothing to be sorry for."

Owen gazed at her with sad eyes, then leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. As he pulled back he could see a soft smile on her face.

"Now get some sleep you insomniac." She grunted and turned back around.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled himself close, as he closed his eyes and let the touch and smell of her drift him off to sleep.

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**NB:**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!**

**Well, not really new year, but you know what I mean. I tell you though, 2008 – not a year we'd likely forget. I think it was just one constant shit storm with one bright shining fantastic light of hope. What we need after that year is a stiff drink. A single malt scotch, as it were. **

**Anywho, I hope you guys have a great new year, and that you review, cause come on – it's your (maybe) last review of 2008! Why wouldn't you do it?**

**So – do your bit – REIVEW!!!**

**Oh, and if you're wondering: song that encapsulates the year; totally "Viva La Vida"**


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